Book 5: Volume 5 Chapter 8, Arrogance: Riku’s Adventure Time 2

Translator: Kazumi

Editor: Silavin

 

The reason Kokoro came along, in addition to Schrein, was because of a single word from Sylvia.

 

At a dinner Riku attended, Sylvia overheard Schrein talking about going on an adventure with them and said, almost as an aside, “Then why not take Kokoro along too?”

 

Schrein agreed immediately, without waiting for Riku’s reply.

 

At the time, it didn’t even occur to Riku that the decision had been made without consulting him, the party leader. He simply thought that having Schrein there would be one less thing to worry about. There was simply no need to arrange bodyguards.

 

It was only later that he remembered, too late, what he had overlooked.

 

Both Schrein and Kokoro drew attention wherever they went.

 

And it wasn’t only their looks that caused it. By the time Riku’s party decided on a request and set off, the damage was already done.

 

Riku’s party operated on the 43rd floor of Amamiya Tower. Below that floor, it was too easy; above it, things became too difficult to manage. Ideally they would have pushed higher, but more than half of the members were still academy students, and time simply wasn’t on their side.

 

The 43rd floor suited them well. It was close enough to a safety area for day-long adventures, familiar enough to feel like home ground.

 

None of them could have anticipated that Angel’s eagerness to impress their two guests would lead to such a humbling experience.

 

“Ah, there’s an Illyu fruit over there.”

 

“Which one? Are you sure?”

 

“…You’re right.”

 

A few seconds after Kokoro and Schrein confirmed it between themselves, Angel, the party’s explorer, responded with a stunned expression. Valuable materials had been appearing one after another since the two of them joined, and even the members who knew this floor better than anywhere else were finding themselves surprised by what was turning up.

 

Angel had taken quiet pride in being the sharpest explorer among the younger members. That pride, confronted so easily and so calmly, had not survived the morning.

 

The others, though not directly affected, were shaken in their own way. Their gazes drifted toward Riku, who stood watching Kokoro and Schrein with a wry, knowing smile.

 

“W-wait a minute,” Kari whispered, careful to keep her voice from carrying. “What is going on?”

 

“Isn’t it obvious?” Riku replied in kind, still smiling.

 

Even he hadn’t expected Kokoro to find things quite so consistently, but he had anticipated something like this. After all, Kokoro carried Kousuke’s blessing. Rumors had long circulated that those who worshipped the Living God were more likely to discover rare materials, and for Riku, it had always seemed entirely plausible that Kokoro, with that blessing, would uncover things others simply walked past.

 

The party, however, didn’t know about the blessing. Riku’s explanation didn’t quite land.

 

“As you can see! Surely you don’t expect us to just accept that?”

 

“Well, you don’t really have a choice, do you? Kokoro-nee is a shrine maiden whose Deity is the Living God.”

 

“Ah—”

 

Kari’s eyes went wide, as though a key had finally turned somewhere. One by one, the others wore the same expression.

 

“I see,” Eddie said at last, nodding slowly. “So this is what we’ve been hearing about.”

 

Gereon, walking beside him, nodded in agreement. “I’d only half-believed the rumors. It’s something else to witness it in person.”

 

“I can see why it spread.”

 

“…It really is something.”

 

Riku cut in before the moment could settle too comfortably.

 

“Hold on. Let me be clear about one thing. Not everyone becomes like this just from having faith. This is Kokoro-nee we’re talking about.”

 

He said it quickly, a little urgently, already imagining Kari making a pilgrimage the moment they returned to town.

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah.” Riku nodded firmly. “You’ve heard the rumors about Kokoro-nee, haven’t you?”

 

Kari was quiet for a moment, then: “…Now that you mention it.”

 

It was widely known, even before Kokoro graduated, that she had spent nearly every free hour at the academy in training as a shrine maiden. As her reputation for beauty grew, so did the stories surrounding her. By the time she left, it was said there wasn’t a student who hadn’t heard her name.

 

Kari exhaled, some tension leaving her shoulders. “That’s certainly impressive. Though couldn’t she have managed it a little more easily?”

 

The sharpness in Riku’s voice surprised even himself.

 

“Kari, that could be considered disrespectful to God.”

 

Kari looked more startled than he expected. He caught himself, and his expression softened almost immediately.

 

“I’m sorry. I got carried away.”

 

“No. I went too far as well.”

 

Kari knew who Riku’s real Parents were. She understood what his words had meant, and why they had come out that way. That understanding was why she apologized without hesitation.

 

Riku, for his part, realized something in that moment: he had more respect for his Father than he’d known.

 

The thought came with a quiet, wry sort of surprise. He let it settle, and said nothing more.

 

Schrein listened to all of this from a slight distance, and felt a familiar heaviness.

 

There it was. Not severe. Not what it once was, but always present. A certain complacency that came from being at the top of their age group for too long, from never having to look up at anyone. It wasn’t a flaw, exactly. Talking during exploration wasn’t wrong. Relaxing before combat was necessary. Any first-class adventurer knew that. But there was a line between ease and carelessness, and the line had blurred without any of them noticing.

 

Schrein breathed out slowly, as if resigned, and spoke.

 

“How long are you planning to keep talking? Have you forgotten to stay ready?”

 

The party looked puzzled. Then Riku and Kokoro both went still, scanning their surroundings with suddenly sharp expressions.

 

A few seconds later, Angel’s voice came out clipped and alert.

 

“Tch! Over there!”

 

The monsters he pointed to had already spotted them. They were coming directly.

 

The party managed to defeat them.

 

Schrein was fairly certain they would have managed even without the warning. But someone, most likely, would have been hurt.

 

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t talk,” Schrein said afterward, unhurried. “A relaxed atmosphere is far better than a stiff one. But the monsters shouldn’t become an afterthought.”

 

No one argued. The excuse that they usually kept better track of things died before it reached anyone’s lips.

 

Schrein hadn’t raised his voice. That made it worse, somehow. The words settled quietly into the party and stayed there.